Old Age: Some Theoretical and Conceptual Considerations

Discusses some papers concerning the aging phenomenon, with focus on identification of different analysis perspectives. The "biological/behavioral" perspective includes those studies fundamentally related to the physiologic aging process. The "economicist" perspective is focused...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ciência & saude coletiva 2002-01, Vol.7 (4), p.899-906
Main Authors: Lopes de Siqueira, Renata, Botelho, Maria Izabel Vieira, Coelho, France Maria Gontijo
Format: Article
Language:Portuguese
Subjects:
Aging
Demographic Change
Epistemology
Methodology (Philosophical)
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Discusses some papers concerning the aging phenomenon, with focus on identification of different analysis perspectives. The "biological/behavioral" perspective includes those studies fundamentally related to the physiologic aging process. The "economicist" perspective is focused on the economic impact of the social aging, by analyzing the matters related to the demand for health services & social welfare benefits. On the perspective of the "sociocultural" character, the old age is understood as a social construction, & the papers discuss the possible forms for its representation. The fourth perspective, "transdisciplinary," represents a dimension trying to contemplate a set of different-natured aspects (biological, economic, sociocultural) pointed out in the previous perspectives. Therefore, considering the complexity of the old age reality & the difficulties to approach theoretically & methodologically the hole theme, this paper concludes that one perspective is not most appropriate for analysis of the aging phenomenon. A deeper & wider debate about the theoretical & practical implications of each perspective is needed. 23 References. Adapted from the source document.
ISSN:1413-8123